Cobblers boss Wilder in call for JPT competition to be ‘spiced up’ or ‘sacked’

James Heneghan

Cobblers boss Chris Wilder was typically forthright in his views of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy following Northampton’s 2-0 defeat to Millwall, suggesting the competition should be scrapped altogether.

Just 2,254 fans were in attendance at the Den, with 212 travelling from Northampton, to witness Aiden O’Brien and Lee Gregory fire Millwall into the area quarter-finals in a laboured encounter that never got out of first gear.

And Wilder admitted to his frustrations with the much-maligned competition after full-time.

When asked how he’d spice up the competition, the Cobblers boss said: “Sack the competition. It’s an opportunity to get to Wembley but that’s so far down the line.

“I’m not a lover of the competition. I think we play enough football - we already have the League Cup and the FA Cup.

“I always want to win every game and it’s the first time I’ve said this, but something has to happen to spice it up a little bit because you look at all the crowds in the first two or three rounds and it only really gets going when you get to the area semi-final and final.

“The biggest thing for football is the participation of the supporters and if they don’t fancy it, then why do the clubs fancy it?

“So there’s got to be something done about it.

“It’s not cheap to get into football and our supporters and the Millwall supporters both had a game on Saturday so I’m not sure, but there it is.”